L6II2- 



UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

PSYCHOLOGY 

Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 1-59 March 30, 1918 



AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ABNORMAL 

CHILDREN, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE 

TO THE PROBLEMS OF DEPENDENCY 

AND DELINQUENCY 



BY 
OLGA BRIDGMAN, M.D., PH.D. 



UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS 
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AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ABN0RM:AL 

CHILDREN, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE 

TO THE PROBLEMS OF DEPENDENCY 

AND DELINQUENCY 



A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PAETIAL SATISFACTION OF 

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF 

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 

AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 



OLGA LOUISE BRIDGMAN 



May, 1915 



/ 



^^ 



TO 

6 



v5^> 



UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

PSYCHOLOGY 

Vol. 3, No. I, pp. 1-59 March 30, 1918 



AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF ABNORMAL 

CHILDREN, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE 

TO THE PROBLEMS OF DEPENDENCY 

AND DELINQUENCY 

BY 

OLGA BEIDGMAN, M.D., Ph.D. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. Introduction 2 

Opportunities for special studies ; Definition of types of 
environment; Definition of the terms dependency and delin- 
quency. ' 

II. Special study of the group of delinquent children 7 

Offenses; Measurement of the intelligence by the Binet 
scale; Limitations to the use of the Binet scale; Employments; 
Parents ; Environment. 

III. Special study of the group of dependent children 31 

Age of the dependent children ; Clironological and mental 
ages compared; Delinquent and dependent children compared; 
Parents of dependent children ; Family status of dependent 
children; Employment of parents; Nativity of parents; En- 
vironment of dependent children. 

IV. Notes on cases in miscellaneous group 47 

V. General conclusion .50 

VI. Appendix: summary of typical case-histories 55 



2 University of California Publications in Psycliology [^'ou 3 



INTRODUCTION 

The following study of abnormal children has been made in 
the Psychological Clinic of the Children's Out-Patient Depart- 
ment of the University of California Hospital in San Francisco. 
The Psychological Clinic was established in January, 1914, under 
the direct supervision of the Department of Pediatrics of the 
Medical School and with the co-operation of the Department of 
Psychology of the University in Berkeley. It was created in 
response to a recognized demand for the special services it could 
render, in that many defective and peculiar children were 
appearing and were not being cared for satisfactorily. The 
Psychological Clinic has been most fortunate in its association 
with a medical school and hospital ; through their special clinics 
it has been possible to determine accurately the child's physical 
condition and to observe the effects of appropriate care on his 
mental progress, Witli the assistance of the Social Service De- 
partment of the Hospital, information has been assembled as 
to home conditions — the social and financial standing of the 
family- — and as to hereditary traits. 

Opportunities for special studies. — It has been possible in 
this clinic, perhaps largely because of its connection with a state 
universit3% to investigate certain particular problems which 
arise in connection with the study of mental deficiency. A large 
proportion of the children coming to the clinic are dependent 
or delinquent, and there is, as a consequence, an opportunity 
for studying the problems of dependency and delinquency and 
their relation to that of mental abnormality. It is also possible 
to a limited extent, to study the hereditary tendencies shown; 
this is due to the fact that, in most cases, the parents and 
brothers and sisters of the child can be consulted and observed 
personally. In several cases, it has been possible to make actual 
examinatiions of all the children in a family. This is necessarily 
an exceedingly limited study of . hereditary tendencies, if it can 






1918] Bridgman : Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 3 

be considered such a study at all, but the observations that have 
been made are as accurate as actual personal contact with the 
individuals concerned can make them. 

Definition of types of environment. — Considerable stress has 
been laid on environmental conditions in this study. Under this 
title, we have discriminated as to good environment, unsatisfac- 
tory environment, and had environment. It is simple enough to 
decide in extreme cases whether an environment has been uni- 
formly good or bad, or where both conditions have existed, to 
draw a distinct line where the bad environment has left off and 
the good one begun. On the other hand, there are many cases 
where the distinction is not at all clear, where the environment 
has perhaps never been actually good, and at the same time 
never positively bad in the sense that the child has been sur- 
rounded by vicious influences. A child in an institution, for 
example, is not ordinarilj^ considered as having a satisfactory 
environment. To be sure, this child is usually well fed and 
comfortably housed and clothed, but there is lacking that most 
important element, namely, personal contact and interest, which 
may be found even in a poverty-stricken home, where proper 
food cannot always be obtained. Again, the child-placing 
agencies place their children in boarding-homes, but there is 
a vast difference in the homes which are found. Of course, the 
mental ability and physical appearance of the child itself deter- 
mine the type of such a home to a large extent. Good homes, 
where the keenest sympathy is given, can be provided with 
comparative ease for the bright, attractive child. But the dull 
child, in poor health and of unprepossessing appearance, is not 
so easily provided for. This child may go from home to home, 
usually to the less desirable and more temporary homes, and 
because of the frequent changes, may actually be worse off 
than are some of the children in institutions. Then as to the 
institutions, there is as great a variation as in the foster-homes. 
Certain of the smaller institutions are doing excellent work. 
Controlled as they are by trained persons, and with officers alert 
to their problem and to the personal needs of their charges. 



4 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

they furnish homes which unquestionably surpass in efficiency 
many of the less desirable foster-homes. But in some of tlie 
less efficient orphanages, it is a different story ; in such cases 
it must be agreed that even a poor foster-home would be a great 
improvement. Then too, the same environment will have an 
entirely different effect on different children, depending again 
on the child itself. Some children who are forced to look out 
for themselves to a greater or less extent even in early childhood, 
develop a self-reliance and a strength of character which is quite 
remarkable, while other children of whom no greater require- 
ments are made, become lawless and may go doMai completely 
because of lack of control and direction. Therefore, environ- 
ment will have to be judged largely by the effect it has on the 
child and not in an abstract way. Poverty and privation ma}' 
early bring out high traits of character in certain individuals, 
whereas in other cases, where there is less inherent strength, they 
result in the child's following the path of least resistance and 
developing the worst side of its character. In deciding as to 
environment, then, whether it is to be regarded as good, had, 
or unsatisfactory, each child has been considered as an individ- 
ual, and its surroundings have been judged, first, without regard 
to their influence on the child, and again, solely from tlie effect 
they have had on the child. An environment has not been 
classified as had. unless it was actually vicious and of a type to 
have a bad lasting effect even on the most promising child. 
Children in institutions and those in foster-homes have all been 
considered carefully and have been held as having had unsat- 
isfactory or good surroundings as each particular case has 
seemed to warrant. This method of classification as to type 
of environment, unfortunately leaves much room for personal 
judgment, but it has been felt that the ultimate conclusions 
would be more fair than they could have been had whole 
groups of children — as for example, all children in foster-homes 
or all children in institutions — been placed in one or the other 
class, without special regard to the variations within each group. 



j — Lp-nifn^ ji t n »> ^jBj,^»8:gja_»»t^ i n^i. - _-i a^g 



1918J Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 5 

Definition of dependency and delinquency. — The two most 
important terms used in this report are dependency and delin- 
quency ; and that there may be no uncertainty as to the exact 
sense in which the terms are used, it will be necessary to define 
the present usage of the terms as clearly as is possible. The 
term delinquent will herein be applied to: (1) all such children 
as have actually violated any state law or city ordinance; (2) 
all such as associate with vicious companions, absent themselves 
from home, or are growing up in circumstances that make it 
highly probable that they themselves will lead vicious or criminal 
lives. Dependent will be used in referring to those children 
who have no proper homes or guardians, where financial depen- 
dency is virtually the whole problem. A child will be called 
delinqxient whenever it has acquired such knowledge or habits 
as make it an undesirable companion for other children, and 
dependent only where there are present no such traits to be over- 
come, and M^here the child has shown no marked abnormalit}' 
of character, that makes it an undesirable companion for other 
children. Bj^ making use of such a distinction as this it will 
not be difficult to make a division into the two classes, in 
which the necessary care to be provided will be clearl.y of a 
different type. This terminology is in the main in accordance 
with the definitions of dependency and delinquency which occur 
in most of the juvenile court laws in this country. A few of 
the older laws still adhere to the old terminology, including 
under the heading delinquency only such children as have vio- 
lated statutes or ordinances or are incorrigible, leaving out of 
consideration the large number of children who, because of bad 
environment or inherent anti-social tendencies, are in serious 
"danger of coming to lead criminal or dissolute lives." On 
the other hand, in the juvenile court law enacted in California 
in 1913,^ the term neglected child was introduced, to refer to the 
same class of children as is ordinarily regarded as dependent. 



1 Tlie iieAv Juvenile Court Law of California, passed in 1915, does not 
distinguish by definition the various groups of children but refers to tliem 
all simply as ' ' wards of the Court. ' ' 



6 University of California PiiMications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

A delinquent child according to this law, is one who has violated 
some statute of the state or some city ordinance. A dependent 
child is one who is in serious danger of growing up to lead a 
criminal or dissolute life. This distinction has been made on 
account of a growing objection to the term delinquent, because 
of the stigma it attaches to the child and of the difficulty it raises 
later in attempts to provide for him an honorable place in the 
community. This feeling is in accord with the general opinion 
of those working with the children in the courts, that since these 
are only the victims of unfortunate circumstances, it should not 
be possible to attach to them any blame or responsibility for 
their unfavorable situation. Nevertheless, for the sake of con- 
venience, the term delinquency will be used in this report in the 
same sense in which it is used in the states of Alabama, Colorado, 
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Washing- 
ton, in all of which states the law regards as delinquent any 
child who (rt) violates a state law or a city or village ordinance; 
(&) is incorrigible; (c) knowingly associates with thieves, vicious 
or immoral persons; [d) absents himself from home without the 
consent of parent or guardian, or for no sufficient cause ; ( e ) is 
growing up in idleness or crime; (/) knowingly visits or enters 
a house of ill-fame; (g) visits gambling houses or saloons; (h) 
wanders on the streets at night or about railroad yards or tracks ; 
(i) jumps off and on trains; (j) enters a car or engine without 
authority; (k) uses vile, obscene or indecent language, or (l) 
is immoral or indecent. In short, a delinquent child is one who 
needs the supervision of the court, both for the furtherance of 
his own interests, and for the interests of the community in 
which he lives. 

This study has been made of the first four hundred and fifty 
cases coming to the clinic from Januarj^, 1914, to January, 1915. 
These cases were drawn from widely varying sources, the vast 
majority, however, coming from public institutions such as the 
juvenile court, or charity organizations. 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 7 



SPECIAL STUDY OF THE GROUP OF DELINQUENT 
CHILDREN 

Of the total number of children examined, two hundred and 
five have been classified as delinquent. These children have 
been sent to the clinic for mental examination by several differ- 
ent public agencies but the largest number are juvenile-court 
cases. Of the total of two hundred and five cases, one hundred 
and eighty-five were referred to the clinic by the juvenile court, 
ten came from other departments of the University of California 
Hospital, and there were scattered cases from various other 
sources. 

Table 1. — Agencies Sending Delinquent Children for Mental 
Examination; Number of Cases 

Juvenile Court 185 

University of California Hospital 10 

Public Schools 2 

Associated Charities of San Francisco 1 

St. Francis Technical School 1 

City and County Hospital 1 

St. Catherine's Home 1 

Detention Hospital 1 

Boys and Girls Aid Society 1 

Protestant Orphan Asylum 1 

Children's Home-Finding Society 1 

Total 205 

Table 2. — Offenses of Delinquent Children 

Boys 

Stealing 43 

Incorrigibility 33 

Truancy 24 

Running away from home 13 

Vagrancy 10 

Bad personal sex habits 9 

Immoral sex relations 5 



8 University of California Piihlioations in Psychology [Vol. 3 

Girls 

Immoral sex relations 83 

Incorrigibility 24 

Running away from home 8 

Bad personal sex habits 6 

Truancy 2 

Drunkenness 2 

Offenses of delinquent children. — Of the delinquent children 
examined, ninety-eight were boys and one hundred and seven 
girls. These children, who came from widely different homes, 
were brought to the attention of their guardians as delinquent 
for a variety of reasons. Of the total number of delinquent 
children, sixty-two were dependent as well. These dependent 
delinquents have been included in the statistical tables of the 
delinquents but not in those of the dependents. The offenses 
comm.itted show considerable variation with sex. Forty-three 
of the boys classified as delinquent had been guilty -of stealing, 
this being the commonest form of delinquency on the part of 
the bo3's. None of the girls, on the other hand, had been guilty 
of stealing as the primary offense, but eighty-three had been 
guilty of sex immorality. Some of these differences may be 
fairly easily explained. In their earlier j-ears, boys are allowed 
much greater freedom from supervision than are girls, and as 
a result a much smaller number of little girls appear before the 
juvenile court than of little boys. Also, boys are brought before 
the court on much less provocation than are girls and as a result 
of this tendency to shelter girls from the disgrace associated 
with a court hearing, they seldom appear until they have com- 
mitted some comparatively serious offense and it is imperative 
that active measures be taken to improve the situation. The 
average age of the boys is approximately thirteen j^ears, and 
there are more thirteen-year-old boj^s than an}- others appearing 
in the group of delinquents. The average age of the girls is 
roughly fifteen years, approximately two years greater than 
that of the boys. However, there are far more sixteen-year-old 
girls in the delinquent group than of any other age. 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 9 



Table 3. — Distribution of Delinquent Children According to 
Chronological Age 

Boys GMs 

6 yis 1 4 yrs 1 

1 

1 



9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 



17 
18 
19 
25 
26 



1 


8 


4 


9 


10 


10 


3 


11 


5 


12 


12 


13 


17 


14 


12 


15 


10 


16 


10 


17 


9 


18 


1 


19 


1 


20 


1 


21 


1 


23 


— 


24 


98 


31 



2 

2 

5 

10 

11 

25 



16 " 10 17 " 19 



15 

7 
1 
1 



1 

Total 98 31 " 1 

Total 107 



Table 4. — Distribution of Delinquent Children According to 

Mental Age 

Boys Girls 

2 yrs 1 5 yrs 1 

5 " 2 6 " 1 

6 " 3 7 " 4 

7 " 4 8 " 3 

8 " 7 9 " 15 

9 " 16 10 " - 16 

10 " 17 11 " 26 

11 " 26 12 " 18 

12 " 9 15 " 21 

15 " 10 18 " 2 

18 " : 2 — 

? " 1 Total 107 

Total 98 



10 University of California PiiMioations in Psychology [Vol. 3 



Table 5. — Distribution of Delinquent Children According to 
Chronological and Mental Ages 

Boys 



Mental 


age 


2 


3 4 5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 


15 13 


? Tola 


Chron. age 
























6 






.. 


1 




„ 




.. 







. 1 


7 .... 




1 . 




.. 
















1 


8.... 








.. 


1 


1 


1 


1 








4 


9.... 








1 




2 




3 


2 






. 9 


10 .... 








.. 






1 


2 








. 3 


11 .... 












1 


1 


1 


] 


1 




5 


12 .... 












1 


6 


3 




2 




. 12 


13 .... 














2 


3 


9 


2 




. 17 


14 .... 








1 


1 




4 




5 




1 .. . 


. 12 


15 .... 








1 


1 






2 


2 


1 


o o 


. 11 


16 .... 












1 




1 


3 


2 


3 .. . 


. 10 


17.... 














1 


1 


4 


1 


2 .. . 


. 9 


18 .... 






















1 .. . 


1 


Over 


18 










1 










1 .. 1 3 



Total 



7 16 17 26 9 10 



1 98 



Girls 



Mental age 
Chron. age 

4 

5 

6 

7 



10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

Over 18 



10 11 12 15 18 Total 



1 
1 

2 

2 

2 

5 

10 

11 

25 

19 

15 

13 



Total. 



3 15 16 26 18 21 2 107 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 11 




Chi-on. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over 18 
age 

Graph 1. Distribution of delinquent boys according to chronological age. 



No. 
26 

24 

22 

20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 



Chron. 3 4 5 6 7 
age 



9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over 18 
Graph 2. Distribution of delinquent girls according to chronological age. 



12 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 




Mental 1 2 3 4 5 G 7 8 9 10 11 12 15 18 

age 

Graph 3. Distribution of deliiiquont boys according to mental age. 



No. 

28 

26 

24 

2 2 

20 

IS 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 



Mental 01234567 
age 



9 10 11 12 15 U 



Graph 4. Distribution of delinquent girls according to mental age. 



1918] BrkJgman: Experimental Study of Ahnormal Children 13 



2 6 
2 4 
2 2 
20 
18 
16 
14 
12 
10 

8 

6 

4 

o 


Age 



9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over 18 



Graph 5. Comparison of mental and chronological ages of delinquent boys. 

Mental age, dotted line. 
Chronological age, solid line. 



No. 

28 I 

26 

24 

2 2 

20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 





Age 1 



_J 
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over li 



Graph 6. Comparison of mental and chronological ages of delinquent girls. 



Mental age, dotted line. 
Chronological age, solid line. 



14 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol, 3 

Measurement of intelligence hy the Binet scale. — Inspection 
of the preceding tables and graphs brings out several rather 
striking facts. In the case of both boys and girls, the mental 
age is lower than the chronological age, and in both groups there 
are more delinquent children having a mental age of eleven 
years than any other. This is a mental age about which there 
is considerable debate, and not a few conservative persons feel 
that a child having this mental age, no matter how much older 
he is according to chronological age, should not be considered 
as being actually feeble-minded. It is probably true that there 
are individuals who are not above eleven years in mental age 
who are not feeble-minded in any sense. Occasionally special 
factors enter in, such as marked lack of normal educational 
opportunities, or lack of fluency in the use of English, this 
latter difficulty showing in foreign-born persons or even in 
American-born children when a foreign language is spoken in 
the home. 

There is another type of case, found oftener in agricultural 
districts than in cities, in which the ability to think in abstract 
terms is very poorly developed. Persons of this type may be 
phj'sieally vigorous and capable of managing their affairs in a 
foresighted way, while decidedly below the average in their 
ability to acquire book knowledge. They are usually the de- 
scendants of generations who have lived by using their hands 
rather than their wits ; thus with an innate lack of interest in 
school work, if not an actual distaste for it, they fail to profit 
by scholastic training and remain dunces throughout their school 
course. Along practical lines, however, and in the particular 
directions in which their interests extend, they show marked 
ability and keenness. But such cases as these are unusual and 
stand out from the group of really defective persons because of 
the peculiar features which have been mentioned. 

As a rule the child brought up under average conditions, 
who has a mental age of only eleven years after having attained 
a chronological age of fifteen years or more, is a defective person 



1918] Bridgnmn: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 15 

as judged hy other standards than the Biuet scale alone. A 
good many of these children are very deceptive in their appear- 
ance of intelligence and under favorable circumstances they may 
never stand out from the rest of society as being abnormal. 
They are, however, distinctly below the average in all kinds of 
ability, and are peculiarly unable to adapt themselves to trying 
or unusual circumstances. They make up to a considerable 
extent the great body of incompetents, often become vicious and 
criminal, and form a large part of those groups who are in 
chronic need of aid from public charities, or who fill the alms- 
houses, jails and prisons of this country. The fact that a few 
of them under favorable conditions seem to be able to look after 
themselves without special care, does not make the class as a 
whole any the less dangerous, and it seems obvious that for most 
of them the exercise of full personal liberty should be limited 
in some way if they are to be supervised in anything like an 
adequate manner. They must always be regarded as potentially 
anti-social and should be taken in charge by the state at as early 
an age as possible. If this were done in a wise and humane way, 
it would probably do away with a great deal of petty crime and 
would diminish to a great extent the number of women becoming 
prostitutes. The group of children, then, having a mental age 
of eleven years and retarded more than four j^ears mentally, 
will, in this paper, be included in the moron group. Those 
children with a mental age of twelve years who are retarded 
more than four years are classified as defective, but are not 
considered feeble-minded. Those children with a mental age 
of fifteen years or over have in every case been regarded as 
having nonnal intelligence. This terminolog}^ and method of 
classification is in the main in accordance with that described 
by E. B. Huey- and Henry H. Goddard.^ 



2 Huey, E. B., Baclnvard and feehJe-minded children. Baltimore, War- 
wick and York, 1912, pp. 4-10. 

3 Goddard, H. H., Feeble-mindedness : its causes and consequences. New 
York, Macmillan, 1914, pp. 4-6. 



16 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

Table 6. — Diagnosis of Delinquent Children as Graded by the 
BiNET Scale 

Idiot 1 

Imbecile 5 

Moron 69 

Defective 14 

Backward 50 

Normal 64 

Precocious 1 

? (Insane) 1 

Total 205 

Of the whole group of two hvindred and five eases, seventy- 
five have been graded as feeble-minded, a proportion of 
approximately 32 per cent, this percentage including those cases 
indicated in table 6, as idiots, imhcciles and morons. Of those 
referred to as defective, some will probably deteriorate and 
finally fall into the class of children actually feeble-minded, and 
in the hackward group a considerable proportion ^\\\ almost 
certainly fail to develop normally and will later have to be 
regarded as feeble-minded persons. Those children having 
normal intelligence as estimated hy the Binet scale are interest- 
ing, indeed puzzling. Of this number comparatively few can 
be regarded as average children. Thirteen out of a total of 
sixty-five, or 20 per cent, seem quite normal and apparently 
have become delinquent only because exposed to especially un- 
favorable conditions or because of a marked lack of the super- 
vision and training which falls to the lot of the average child. 
The delinquenc}^ in these cases might almost be considered acci- 
dental, as something from which the child could have been 
protected with little difficulty. For these children it is only 
necessary to provide favorable surroundings, and good results 
may be hoped for. But as to the rest, the problem is a different 
one. All of these have manifested, either because of innate 
tendencies or because of long-continued bad environment, serious 
defects of character. It is undoubtedly true that had they been 
placed in favorable conditions, many of these children would 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Al>)iormal Children 17 

at the present time to all intents and purposes have been normal. 
It is a most unfortunate thing, that those children with bad 
hereditary tendencies, who have the greatest need of careful 
moral and mental training, and who should be protected both 
from mental and physical excesses, should be those who are most 
exposed to moral and physical dangers. It is such individuals 
as these who represent the first stages on the downward road 
toward mental disease, who are responsible for much of the 
crime which is committed, and who become the parents of true 
defectives. 

Limitations to use of Binet scale. — Table 7 suggests the limi- 
tations to the use of the Binet scale as the only method of 
examination. Surely nothing could be more absurd or mis- 
leading than to regard as normal the group of children here 
tabulated, simply because, according to the intelligence scale, 
they have a normal or at least approximately normal mental age. 

Table 7. — Delinquent Children Graded as Normal by the 
Binet Scale 

Apparently normal in every way 13 

Persistently immoral sexually 14 

Generally irresponsible 13 

Constitutionally psychoi>athic 8 

Guilty of inveterate thieving 7 

Obsessed with Wanderlust - 5 

Perverted sexually 3 

Wantonly cruel 1 

Insane (now in asylum) 1 

Total 65 

Binet, himself, in the use of his scale, made no pretense of 
dealing with all sides of a complex nature, and though this 
system of tests furnishes a surprising variety of information, 
it nevertheless gives far from the whole stor3\ First of all, it is 
necessarj' to know what opportunities a child has had in his 
own home and neighborhood. Then hereditary tendencies must 
be taken into consideration. And perhaps most important of 



18 University of California PuMications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

all, it is necessary to understand the child's point of view, his 
attitude toward persons and things, and his emotional response 
to his experiences and to situations which he is called upon to 
meet. A careful interpretation of even such simply conducted 
tests as those in the Binet scale gives some information along all 
of these lines, but not nearly enough. In the actual administra- 
tion of tests made in this study, the method of examination which 
has given most satisfaction has been the use of the Binet scale 
as modified by Henrj- H. Goddard, supplemented by a large 
number of tests designed to emphasize some points which the 
Binet tests merely touch upon and to test more thoroughly such 
complex faculties as persistence, interest, judgment and ability 
to make more or less complicated associations. The Binet scale 
has one very important point in its favor ; it gives a definite and 
communicable finding. In making use of the results of mental 
examinations of delinquent children it is necessary that the 
reports be made intelligible to those officials who finally rule 
as to the child's further care. The terms mental age and 
retardation are easily made clear to anyone, Avhich is a great 
advantage ; but when these tests are used indiscriminatelj^ the 
results may be and often are misleading, and the whole system 
may work to the detriment of the child and of the scale itself, 
by creating impressions which are not justifiable. 

Employments of delinquent children. — The occupations under 
which these children can be grouped, to a large extent fall into 
a few important classes. More children are still in school than 
are employed in any other way, eighty-six, or 42 per cent, being 
school children. Fifty, or 24 per cent, are not employed in any 
remunerative way even though they are out of school. The paid 
occupations in which these children have been engaged are simi- 
lar, requiring no previous training and but little intelligence. 
Thirty-four, or approximately^ 17 per cent, are engaged in domes- 
tic service. This large proportion of delinquent children, nearly 
all girls, employed as domestic servants does not necessarily 
point to this as an undesirable occupation, or as one which by 
its very nature contributes to delinquency. Domestic service 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 19 

Table 8. — Occupations in which Delinquent Children have been 

Engaged 

Schoolchild 86 

Without employment 50 

Domestic servant 34 

Factory worker 6 

Housewife 4 

Cashier 3 

Newsboy 3 

Laborer 2 

Messenger 2 

Saleswoman 2 

Wagon-boy 1 

Cashgirl 1 

Prize-fighter 1 

Telephone operator 1 

Stockgirl , .'. 1 

Clerk in ice-cream parlor 1 

Candy packer 1 

Gardener's helper 1 

Office boy 1 

Comptometer operator 1 

Multigrapher 1 

Of unknown occupation 2 

Total 205 

is almost the only occupation by means of which an untrained, 
often sadly incompetent girl can obtain for herself food and a 
comfortable room. For girls who are at best capable of doing 
only routine work and who are not trained to do that, there is no 
other alternative than housework ; many of the girls themselves 
admit that they dislike this work, but cannot in any other way 
earn enough to live. The problem of training incompetent indi- 
viduals to some useful emplojTuent and of providing employment 
for them, is one whose solution has been attempted only in a 
small way, though the need of effective measures for looking 
after these individuals is a very pressing one. At the present 
time it is a pitiful reflection on the inadequacy of relief meas- 
ures, that so many charitable agencies and penal institutions find 
it necessary to regard the marriage of a delinquent girl, even 
though she may be known to be mentally defective, as the best 



20 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

possible solution of the problem of her case. This may relieve 
present conditions to a slight extent ; it at least transfers the 
legal responsibility in most cases to other shoulders ; but the 
situation will have to be faced by another generation, if not by 
this one, and the problem will not be easier to solve because of 
years of delay and shortsightedness in dealing with it. If 
defective-delinquent girls marry, they will probably marry per- 
sons like themselves. This seems to be a social law for which 
much evidence can be found. Their children will in all prob- 
ability be at least as defective as themselves, and in another 
generation the whole situation will not have improved but will 
almost certainly have become more serious. 

Parents of deUnquent children: types of character. — Even a 
brief and necessarily superficial study of the parents of this 
group of delinquent children shows that very many, though by 
no means all, are potentially if not actually anti-social. Com- 
paratively few of these children come from good homes, and 
poverty, vice and incompetency are the common findings. The 
parents are variously employed and except that there is a pre- 
ponderance of seasonal and unskilled trades, and of those in 
which emplo^'ment is very irregular, nothing is especially 
noticeable. (See table 10.) Table 9 shows in a general way 

Table 9. — Condition of Pakents of Delinquent Children 

Both i^arents inefficient 92 

Both i^arents normal 3.^ 

Both parents unknown 26 

One parent inefficient, the other unknown 33 

Mother normal, father inefficient 9 

Father inoffi.cient, mother insane 2 

Father inefficient, mother neurotic 2 

Mother normal, father insane 2 

Father normal, mother inefficient 1 

Both j)arents neurotic 1 

Both parents insane 1 

Father normal, mother insane 1 

Mother normal, father neurotic 1 

Mother inefficient, father eccentric 1 

Total 205 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 21 



Table 10. — Occupations 

Laborer 

Carpenter 

Gang-foreman 

Cook 

Teamster 

Stevedore 

Fruit-peddler 

Stationary engineer 

Physician 

Longshoreman 

Janitor 

Chiropodist 

Horse-trader 

Painter 

Machinist 

Fireman 

Candy-factory hand 

Tailor 

Night watchman 

Restaurant manager 

Mattress-maker 

Boiler-maker 

Post-office clerk 

Bartender 

Car-oiler 

Real-estate agent 

Stock accountant 

Gambler 

Plaster-of-Paris statue maker.. 
Proprietor of bakery and 

chophouse 

Tinner 

Metal-roofer 



OF Parents ov Delinquent Children 
Father 



12 
10 



1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

Travelling salesman 1 

Piano-luner 1 

Architect 1 

Waiter 1 



Electrician 

Furniture merchant 

Old-clothes man 

Musician 

Gardener , 

Balloon-maker 



Night-starter (ferry) 1 

Cobbler 1 

Candy-seller at theatre 1 

Miner 's helper 1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 



Marble-worker 

Police officer 

Stationary fireman 

Civil engineer 

Cabinet-maker 

Soldier 



Dyer and cleaner 1 

Promoter 1 

Special policeman 1 

Horse-trainer 1 

Iron-moulder 1 

Porter 1 

Owner of cigar stand 1 

Tanner 1 

No occupation 7 

Occupation unknown 81 

Total 205 



Mother 



House^\-ife 118 

Servant by the day 11 

Laundry-worker 8 

"Practical" nurse 3 

Manager of boarding-house .... 2 

Factory hand 2 

Telephone operator 1 

Paper-seller 1 

Solicitor 1 

Waitress 1 



Trained nurse 1 

Chambermaid 1 

Dyer and cleaner 1 

Milliner 1 

Real-estate dealer 1 

No occupation 1 

Occupation unknown 51 

Total 205 



22 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

the types of parents of the delinquent children who have been 
studied. The term inefficient has been used of persons who are 
distinctly below normal, either in character or intelligence or 
both, persons who must be considered social failures. They 
may be well-meaning^ in every way, but unable to cope with 
situations at all complex ; or they may be vicious and degenerate 
as well as incompetent. This group includes the drunken, im- 
moral, generally shiftless and worthless individuals who seem 
often to recognize no responsibility, and who would be unable 
to bear it were it recognized. Of the total number of delinquent 
children, ninety -two, or 45 per cent, have both parents inefficient. 
Without doubt many of these parents are mentally defective and 
are of the same type as the children, having probably a mental 
age of eleven years or even less. Only thirty-three, or 16 per 
cent, of the delinquent children have both parents normal, as 
far as can be ascertained. 

Table 11.— Financial Status op Families of Delinquent Children 

Dependent on public aid 

Children in institutions 39 

Cliildren whose families are in clironic need of aid 15 

Children in foster-homes 5 

Widows '-pension cases 3 

Total 62 

Independent of public aid 

Children with poverty in homes 47 

Children with vicious homes 44 

Children with brutal parents 1 

Cliildren with good homes 49 

Insufficient data 2 

Total 143 

Presence or absence of parents. — Table 12 shows the number 
of cases in which one parent is absent from the home either 
because of death or desertion. This tabulation takes into 
account only the fact of the presence or absence of one or both 
of the parents, entirely without regard to the character of the 



1918] Bridgman : Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 23 

parent. Some parents who are living and apparently providing 
a home, are most undesirable in character, and in some cases 
it is known that parents who are dead were in every way normal. 
The presence or the absence of the parents from the home is 
of importance only in so far as it shows a relationship between 
delinquency and abnormal family situations. In thirty-two 
cases the mother is absent from the family, four mothers having 

Table 12. — Family Status of Delinquent Children, According to 
Presence or Absence of Parents 

Both parents living together 71 

Father living, mother dead or unknown 28 

Father dead or unknown, mother living 43 

Mother at home, deserted by father 21 

Father at home, deserted by mother 4 

Both parents dead or imknown 32 

Both parents deserted 3 

No information 3 

Total 205 

deserted and twenty-eight being dead or unknown. On the 
other hand, in sixty-four cases the fathers are absent from the 
family, twenty-one fathers having deserted and forty-three being 
dead or unknown. In just twice as many instances then is the 
father the missing parent when only one is absent. That de- 
pendency should result more often because of absence of father 
than of mother may be explained in part by two facts : First, that 
the mother when left alone is more helpless, largely for financial 
reasons, than is the father, hence the children lack more of the 
necessary supervision than when the father is left alone, the 
father being able to provide servants or other care. Second, the 
desertion of the family is more common by the father than by 
the mother. Table 13 shows the families, already included in 

Table 13. — Parents not Living Together 

Divorced 10 

Separated 21 

Total 31 



24 University of Calif orniu Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

table 12, where the parents are not living together. Of these 
families, thirty-one in all, ten parents have been divorced and 
the rest have voluntarily separated, or one parent has deserted. 
Nativity of parents. — Of the parents of the delinquent and 
the dependent children, tabulations have been made of the place 
of birth, and the results compared with the corresponding re- 

Table 14. — Nativity of Delinquent Children 

Native-born of native parentage 73 36% 

Native-born of mixed parentage 16 S% 

Native-born of foreign parentage 61 30% 

Foreign-born of foreign parentage 22 10% 

Parentage unknown 33 16% 

Total 205 100% 

Note. — The term viixed in this and other tables means that one parent 
is native-born, the other foreign-born. 

Table 1.5. — Nativity of Dependent Children 

Native-born of native parentage 34 26% 

Native-born of mixed parentage 8 6% 

Native-born of foreign parentage 44 33% 

Foreign-born of foreign parentage 13 9% 

Parentage unknown 34 26% 

Total 133 100% 

Table 16. — Parentage of the Population of San Francisco 
U. S. Census Report, 1910 

Native-born of native parentage 31.4% 

Native-born of foreign or mixed parentage 36.9% 

Foreign-born of foreign parentage 31.4% 

ports in the last United States Census. Comparisons have first 
been made of the two large groups, the American-born and the 
foreign-born, and in another table the nationalities of the foreign- 
born have been compared with one another. These comparisons 
are not entireh' satisfactory. Many nationalities do not adapt 
themselves readily to the customs and requirements of this 
country during the first or even the second generation, hence the 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 25 




□ 



American born 
of American 
parents 

American born 
of foreign or 
mixed parents 



American born 
of foreign 
parents 



Graph 7. Parentage of the population of San Francisco. 



Table 17 — Population of San Francisco, Native-born of Foreign 

Parents or Foreign-born Listed under Native Country 

of Parents, Computed from 13th U. S. 

Census Eeport, 1910 

Ireland 54,413 

Germany 48,890 

Italy 27,124 

England 14,050 

Sweden 9,736 

France 8,931 

Canada 8,073 

Eussia 6,825 

Austria 6,315 

Scotland 5,240 

Norway 4,735 

Denmark 4,243 

Switzerland 3,832 

Greece 2,274 

Finland 1,846 

Mexico 1,763 

Australia 1,347 

Hungary 1,247 

Spain 1,170 

Wales 693 

Portugal 570 

Holland 500 

All others 24,350 

Total 238,167 



26 University of California Puhlications in Psychology [Vol. 3 



Table 18. — Native Country of Foreign -born Parents of 
Delinquent Children 

Both parents born in 

Italy 22 

Ireland 12 

Germany 9 

France 4 

England 3 

Portugal 3 

Austria 3 

Russian Poland 2 

Russia 2 

Spain 2 

Mexico 1 

Porto Rico 1 

Nonvay 1 

Canada 1 

Sweden 1 

Both parents foreign, but from different count- 
tries 16 

Total 83 



Table 19. — Native Country of Foreign-born Parents of 
Dependent Children 

Both parents born in 

Italy 12 

Spain 8 

France 7 

Ireland 5 

Germany 3 

Porto Rico 3 

Chile 2 

Mexico 2 

Hawaii 2 

Portugal 1 

Russia 1 

Both parents foreign but from different coun- 
tries 11 

Total 57 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 27 

Table 20. — Number of Dependent and Delinquent Children in San 

Francisco Relative to Total Population of Foreign 

Pakentage, or Foreign -bokn 

Population of San Francisco 
foreign-born or of foreign parentage Delinquents Dependents 

Ireland 54,413 12 5 

Germany 48,890 9 3 

Italy 27,124 22 12 

England 14,050 3 

Sweden 9,736 1 

France 8,931 4 7 

Canada 8,073 1 

Eussia 6,825 4 1 

Austria 6,315 3 

Scotland 5,240 

Norway 4,735 1 

Denmark 4,243 

Switzerland 3,832 

Greece 2,274 

Finland 1,846 

Mexico 1,763 1 2 

Australia 1,347 

Hungary 1,247 

Spain 1,170 2 8 

Wales 693 

Portugal 570 3 1 

Holland 500 

All others 24,350 17 18 

Total 238,167 83 57 



conditions found among the immigrants often continue among 
persons born in this country. In nearly all of our large cities 
there are whole districts where the population, though made up 
to a large extent of persons born in the United States, still 
continues to use its own language, the social condition here re- 
sembling that under which they lived in their own country rather 
than that commonly found in this. These groups, though Amer- 
ican-born, are still unassimilated immigrants; this difficulty of 
nationality is one which cannot be overlooked in working with 
them. A rather striking thing in tables 14 and 15 is the small 
proportion of delinquents and dependents found in the group of 



28 University of California Piiblications in Psychology ['Vol. 3 

Table 21. — Data of Table 20 Eestated as Ratios to the Total Groups 

Total, foreign 
derived population 

Country of San Francisco Delinquent Dependent 

Ireland 228 .145 .088 

Germany 205 .109 .053 

Italy 114 .265 .211 

England 059 .036 

Sweden 041 .012 

France 038 .048 .123 

Canada 034 .012 

Eussia 029 .048 .017 

Austria 027 .036 

Scotland - 022 

Norway 019 .012 

Denmark 018 

Switzerland 016 

Greece .010 

Finland 008 

Mexico .007 .012 .035 

Australia 006 — ... 

Hungary 005 

Spain .005 .024 .140 

Wales 003 

Portugal 002 .036 .017 

Holland 002 

All others 102 .205 .316 



Total 1.000 1.000 1.000 

foreign-born persons, and the comparatively large number of de- 
pendents and of delinquents in the group of native-born of 
foreign or mixed parentage. This may in part be explained by 
the fact that the larger number of foreign-born persons are above 
the age at which they would come before the juvenile court when 
first admitted to this country, so that the number of foreign-born 
juvenile delinquents would not represent the correct proportion 
of delinquency actuallj^ occurring in the foreign-born popula- 
tion. However, the proportions of dependents and delinquents 
in each foreign nationality as compared with the population of 
that foreign nationality in San Francisco, correspond rather 
closelv. 



1918] Bridgiiio)) : Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 29 

As has alreach' been pointed out, the number of cases avail- 
able for this study is not sufficient to make the results conclusive, 
though the}' agree on the whole Avith conclusions of other investi- 
gators. As regards the different nationalities represented, the 
most striking single fact brought out is the comparatively large 
number of Italians having dependent and delinquent children. 
More children of Italian parentage are delinquent than of any 
other, Avhereas, relative to the number of population, Italy is 
third on the list as determined by the thirteenth United States 
Census, and far below either Germany or Ireland. (See table 
17.) This result tends to confirm the idea, already' common, that 
the Italians as they are now coming into this country — that is, 
from southern Italy and Sicil.y — are on the whole undesirable 
additions to the population. An interesting fact with regard 
to German^y is brought out by comparing the percentage of 
delinquent children with that of the dependents. Approxi- 
mately 11 per cent of the total number of delinquent children 
are the children of German-born parents, while only 5 per cent 
of the dependents are of German parentage. In the case of 
the Italians, on the other hand, the percentages indicating de- 
linquency and dependency are much more nearly equal. These 
facts would suggest that the difficulty with the Italian group is 
a rather marked inability to cope with the situation met in city 
life, whereas with the Germans this difficulty is not prominent. 
The delinquency of the Italians may be purely secondary, due 
to their lack of adaptability to trying conditions, whereas in the 
case of the Germans other factors enter in. 

Environment of delinquent children. — Table 22, showing the 
environment of delinquent children, judged according to the 
scheme previously described (see pp. 3 ff.), shows that in the 
vast majority of cases the surroundings in which these unfor- 
tunate children have developed have been veiy far from desir- 
able. Of the two hundred and five delinquent children, only 
forty-seven, or 23 per cent, have had such an environment as 
falls to the lot of the average child. Sixty, or 29 per cent, have 



30 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

Table 22. — Environment of Delinquent Children: Cases under Each 

Environment always good 47 23% 

Environment always bad 60 29% 

Environment always unsatisfactory 94 46% 

Environment unknown 4 2% 

Total 205 100% 

grown up in positively vicious surroundings, while ninety-four, 
or 45 per cent, have had surroundings which were not satisfac- 
tory, though they were not actually vicious. The problem of 
the unsuccessful home, therefore, is seen to loom large in the 
whole problem of delinquency. Heredity is probably the im- 
portant factor in the production of actual feeble-mindedness, but 
in the causation of delinquency, environment is as large a factor 
as heredity, if not a larger one. It has been well said that 
hereditj^ gives the plasticity of the substance, environment the 
mould into which it is poured. Hence, since it is recognized 
that the development of the moral sense depends to a large de- 
gree on the early training and environment, it must also be 
agreed that much of juvenile delinquency is directly the result 
of a defective environment. To be sure, defective or markedly 
abnonnal parents could hardly give their children normal homes, 
so that, in very many cases, the children with bad hereditary 
tendencies are also subjected to the worst possible surroundings. 
That they themselves should be abnormal is the only possible 
outcome. 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 31 



SPECIAL STUDY OF THE GROUP OF DEPENDENT 
CHILDREN 

The next group to be considered will be the group of depen- 
dent children. Of the total number of children coming to the 
clinic, one hundred and thirty-three were dependent to a large 
extent on public aid. These children were for the most part 
referred to the clinic hy public agencies, the great majority 
coming from the associated charities' organizations and the 
juvenile courts. The following table shows the distribution of 
dependent children according to the agencies interested in their 
care. The dependent children, as a whole, are probably less 

Table 23. — Agencies Referring Dependent Children to the Clinic; 
Number of Cases 

Associated Charities 56 

, Juvenile Court 35 

Roman Catholic Orjihau Asylum 13 

Catholic Humane Bureau 7 

University of California Hospital 5 

Pacific Hebrew Orphanage 4 

Widows' Pension Bureau 2 

Children's Home Society 2 

Children's Hospital 2 

Protestant Orphan Asylum 1 

People's Place (Social Settlement) 1 

Nurses' Settlement 1 

Hebrew Board of Relief 1 

State Children's Visitor 1 

McKinley Orphanage 1 

School 1 

Total 133 

Table 24. — Sex of Dependent Children 

Boys 66 

Girls 67 

Total 133 



32 University of California Puhlications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

representative of dependency than are the delinquents; it is 
therefore likely that in some instances the conclusions will be 
less accurate for the dependent cases. The larger number of 
these children are the children of parents who are almost con- 
tinuously in need of aid from public agencies. However, a 
goodly number has been sent from orphanages and home-finding 
agencies and it has been gratifying to note a growing tendency 
on the part of such institutions to demand that a child, before 
being placed for adoption, shall have a clean bill of mental and 
phj'sical health. This policy can hardly fail to increase the 
confidence of the public in the child-placing agencies and will 
perhaps also increase the number of careful and conscientious 
persons who will be willing to undertake the great responsibility 
of earing for dependent children in good homes. 

Age of dependent children. — The average age of the depen- 
dent children is, as would be expected, less than that of the 
delinquents, and it is unfortunately true that as they grow older 
a certain proportion of the dependents, especially those whose 
parents are continuously in need of public aid and whose homes 

Table 25. — Distribution of Dependent Children According to 
Chronological Age 

Boys Girls 
4 yrs 2 o yrs 5 



6 " 5 7 " 2 

7 " 6 S " 3 

6 



2 





3 


6 


5 


7 


6 


S 


8 


9 


4 


10 





11 


4 


12 


9 


13 


5 


14 


6 


15 


7 


16 


2 


17 


_ 


25 



9 
10 
11 
12 

13 " 5 14 " 11 

14 " 6 15 " 2 

15 " 7 16 " 2 

18 " 2 17 " 2 

1 



Total 66 36 



Total 67 



1918J Bridgman: Experimeniitl Study of Abnormal Children 33 

Table 26. — Distribution of Dependent Children According to 

Mental Age 

Boys Girls 



1 yr 

■i yis 


2 

5 

3 


1 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

1.3 


yr 

yrs 


1 

2 

...„ 2 


6 " 


3 


4 


7 " 


1] 




5 


8 " 


5 




9 


9 " 

10 " 


10 

12 

9 




12 

5 


11 " 




16 


12 " 


3 


8 


15 " 


2 




2 


? 


1 




1 


Total 


&Q 


Total 


67 



are not satisfactory, will become delinquent and will later be 
included in that group of dependents who are also delinquent. 
The average age of the dependent boys is ten years and of the 
dependent girls twelve years. The difference in age of the 
sexes may be accounted for, at least in part, by the fact that 
it is easier for young boys to become self-supporting than it is 
for girls; hence the boj^ falls out of the group of dependents 
more easily and at an earlier age than the girl. 

Chronological and mental ages compared. — The average men- 
tal age of the dependent children is almost the same for both 
boj's and girls, being a little over eight years. A comparison 
of the mental with the chronological age shows that the average 
mental age of the boys is two years less than the average chrono- 
logical age, while the average mental age of the girls is four 
years less than the chronological age. This would indicate, in 
at least this group of dependent children, that the girls are on 
the whole more backward than the boys. This may be par- 
tially explained by the fact that the boys as a group are younger 
and, as a result, defect does not show itself as clearly as it may 
in later years. The fact, too, that the boys are more likely 
than the girls to be held as delinquent on small provocation 



34 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol.3 

would tend to make a larger number of the hoys appear in the 
group of delinquents, where the average chronological age of 
the bovs is greater than in the dependent group. It not 
infrequently occurs that, in the families where the girls are 



No. 
20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 
2 




n 

Age 1 



9 10 11 12 15 



Gi'apli 8. Mental age of depeiuleut boys and girls. 

Boys, solid line. 
Girls, dotted line. 



1 4 


























1 2 
10 




















8 
























6 




H 




4 














G 


L_^ 

















j 























4 . 


> 6 


7 8 


9 






Age 


1 


2 


3 


10 11 12 1.3 14 15 


16 17 18 Ove 



Graph 9. Chronological age of dependent boys and girls. 

Boys, solid line. 
Girls, dotted line. 



dependent, there ma}' be boys even younger who already have 
delinquency records in the juvenile court. The following table 
gives the diagnosis of the dependent children when classified 
according to the Binet scale. 



1918] Bricl<j)iia)i : Experiinoifdl Study of Ahuoriiial Children 35 

Table 27. — Diagnosis of the Dependent Children Graded by the 
BiNET Scale 

Boys Girls 

Idiot ; 1 Idiot 1 

Imbecile Imbecile 6 

Moron lo Moron 1:5 

Defective 4 Defective 1 

Backward 21 Backward 27 

Normal 26 Normal 19 

? 1 — 

— Total 67 

Total 66 

Delinquent and dcpoidcut children compared. — By means of 
graphs 10 to 13 inclusive, it is easy to compare, with respect to 
mental and chronological age, the delinquent and the dependent 
children making up this study. These curves show clearly that 
as the chronological age increases the number of delinquents in- 
creases very rapidly. The number of dependent children oyer 
fourteen years of age is comparatively small, whereas the larger 
number of delinquents are more than fourteen years old. It is 
known that, to a considerable extent, the delinquents have been 
recruited from the ranks of the dependents and that in reality 
many of the delinquents are simply dependents grown older. 
The group of delinquent children ma^^ be subdivided into the 
two divisions, those who have always been largel.y dependent on 
outside aid and those who have come from homes which have 
been financially independent. Of the two hundred and five 
delinquent children, sixty-two ai'e also dependent and could 
be included in the dependency group except for the special fact 
of their delinquency. The table giving the diagnosis of the 
dependent children as classified according to the Binet scale 
shows that for both boys and girls thirty-five, or 26 per cent, are 
actually' feeble-minded, forty-five, or 34 per cent, are normal, 
and the rest, fifty-three, or 40 per cent, are on the border-line 
between the normal and the feeble-minded, with a certainty that 
a considerable number will not develop to adult years in a 
normal manner. These dependent children form an exceedingly 



36 University of California PuhJications in Psychologij [Vol.3 



Xo. 



24 

2 2 






20 




18 




16 




14 




12 




10 




8 




6 




4 






2 



i h 





Age 1 




9 10 11 12 15 18 



Graph 10. Mental ages of dependent and of delinquent boys. 

Delinquent, solid line. 
Dependent, dotted line. 



No. 

26 

24 

22 

20 

18 

16 

14 t 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 



Chron. 3 4 5 6 7 
age 



9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over U 



Graph 11. Chronological ages of dependent and of delinquent boys. 

Delinquent, solid line. 
Dependent, dotted line. 



is'iSJ Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 37 



No. 



2 2 

20 

18 

16 

14 

.12 

10 

8 

6 

4 



Mental 1 
age 



3 4 5 6 7 



9 10 11 12 15 li 



Graph 12. Mental ages of dependent and of delinquent girls. 

Delinquent, solid line. 
Dependent, dotted line. 



Xo. 

2 6 



20 

18 

16 

14 

12 

10 

8 

6 

4 



Cliron. 3456 
age 



8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Over 18 



Graph 13. Chronological ages of dependent and of delinquent girls. 



Delinquent, solid line. 
Dependent, dotted line. 



38 Univcrsifij of California Publications in Psychology [Vol.3 



Table 28. — Mental Status of Dependent Children 

Feeble-minded, including one insane 35 26% 

Backward or defective 53 40% 

Normal or precocious 45 34% 

Total 133 100% 

Table 29. — Mental Status of Delinquent Children 

Feeble-minded, including one insane — 76 37% 

Backward or defective 64 31% 

jSTormal or precocious 65 32% 

Total 205 100% 




nn 



Normal or 



Backward or 
defective 



FeeVile-minded 
(including 
one insane) 



Graph 14. Mental status of dependent children. 




I I Normal or 

I I precocious 



Backward or 

defective 



Feel)le-minded 
(including 
one insane) 



Graph 15. Mental status of delinquent children. 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 39 

important social group. Tliere are many of them at present and 
their number is not likely to become smaller. The problem of 
caring for them is a serious one and it is quite obvious that no 
means should be overlook/^'d for its solution both in the interests 
of the children and of society. More than half, as the above 
percentages show, require special care, and a failure to provide 
this necessary care must be followed by disastrous consequences. 
None of this particular group has as yet been seriously delin- 
quent, but there is a strong probability that a good many will 
become delinquent if not cared for in a far-sighted manner. 
Surely the feeble-minded can never be held morally responsible ; 
and the best policy, and in the end the most economical one, will 
be to make a close stud}' of this class of children and to provide 
for them during the rest of their lives, that they may never 
become more dangerous or unhappy than they are at present. 
Parents of dependent children. — The study of the parents 
of the dependent children is fully as instructive as is that of 

Table 30. — Classification of Dependent Children According to 
Types op Parents 

Both parents inefficient 67 

Botli parents unknown 18 

Father insane, mother inefficient 4 

Father inefficient, motlier insane 2 

Father inefficient, motlier neurotic 1 

Both parents neurotic ...;. 2 

Father normal, mother inefficient 3 

Mother normal, father inefficient 12 

Both parents normal 24 

Total 133 

Table 31. — Classification of Dependent Children, Showing 
Extent of Dependency 

Children in institutions 39 

Children from families in constant need of aid 55 

Children of widoAvs receiving widows' pension 20 

(.'hildren in foster-homes 19 

Total 133 



40 University of California Puhlicotions in Psychology [Vol.3 

Table 32. — Dependent Children with Normal or Abnormal Parents 

Both parents normal 24 18% 

One parent normal 15 11% 

Both parents abnormal 76 57% 

Both parents unknown 18 14% 

Total 138 100% 

Table 33. — Delinquent Children with Normal or Abnormal Parents 

Both parents normal 33 16% 

One parent normal 14 7% 

Both parents abnormal 99 48% 

Both parents unknown 26 13% 

One parent abnormal, the other unknown 33 16% 

Total : 205 100% 



Both parents 
abnormal 

Both parents 
unknown 




I I One parent 
I I normal 

□ Both parents 
normal 



Graph 16. Proportion of normal and abnormal parents in the group of 
dependent children. 




CZI 



Both parents 
abnormal 

Both parents 
unknown 

One parent 
normal 

One parent 
ablormal the 
other unknown 

Both parents 
normal 



Graph 17. Proportions of normal and abnormal parents in the group of 
delinquent children. 



1918] Bn'clgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 41 

the parents of the delinquents. Results here again tend to show 
that the two groups of dependents and delinquents are not 
fundamentalh' very different. There is in the dependent group 
a somewhat larger proportion of children having both parents 
abnormal, but otherwise the tables and graphs are strikingly 
alike. (See graphs 16 and 17.) The following tables indicate 
the types of the parents of the dependent children according to 
the scheme which was used for the delinquents. 

Family status of dependents. — Table 34 shows that the father 
is absent from the home in a much larger number of instances 
than is the mother. This would of course be expected, since the 
father is the usual bread-winner and his death or desertion would 
in most cases at once render the family dependent. 

Table 34. — Family Status of Dependent Children, According to 
Presence or Absence of Parents 

Both parents living and together 29 

Both parents dead or unkno■v^^l 19 

Father living, mother dead or unknown 19 

Father dead or unknown, mother living 41 

Mother at home, deserted by father 13 

Father at home, deserted by mother 3 

Deserted by both parents .- 7 

Condition of parents unknown 2 

Total 133 

Table 35. — Parents not Living Together 

Divorced 5 

Separated 18 

Total 23 

Table 36. — Family Condition of Dependent Children Eelati\'e to the 
Presence or Absence of Parents 

Both parents living and together 29 22% 

One or both parents dead or away from home 102 77% 

Condition of parents unknown 2 1% 

Total 133 100% 



42 University of California Puhlicafions i)i Psychology [Vol.3 

Table 37. — Family Condition of Delinquent Children Relative to the 
Presence or Absence of Parents 

Both parents living and togetlier 71 35% 

One or both parents dead or awaj^ from home 131 6-4% 

Condition of parents unkno'\\ai 3 1% 

Total 205 100% 




CD 



One or botli parents 
dead or away 
from home 

Both parents living 
and together 

Condition of parents 
unknown 



Graph 18. Family condition of dependent children in respect to the 
presence or absence of one or l:)oth parents. 




□ 



One or both parents 
dead or away 
from home 

Both parents living 
and together 

Condition of parents 
unknown 



Graph 19. Family condition of delinquent children in respect to the 
presence or absence of one or both parents. 



Employment of parents of dependents. — The occupations of 
the parents of the dependent children are somewhat less varied 
than is the case with the delinquents, but their general type is 
the same. Unskilled occupations and those in which employ- 



1918] Brid<j)iia)i: Experiwental Study of Ahnortnal Children 43 

ineiit is of necessity irregular predominate. A larger propor- 
tion of the fathers of dependents are unskilled day-laborers, but 
otherwise the two tables might almost be interchanged. 



Table 38. — Occupations of Parents of Dependent Children 



Father 

Laborer • 25 

Bationary engineer 4 

Fruit-peddler 3 

Carpenter 3 

Eaneli hand 2 

Longslioreman 2 

Street-lamp lighter 2 

Painter 2 

Buttonhole maker 2 

Tin-roofer 1 

Conductor 1 

Builder 1 

Shipping clerk 1 

Paper-hanger 1 

Stevedore 1 

Architect 1 

Fireman 1 



Merchant 

Teamster 

Model-maker 
Boiler -washer 



Seller of lottery tickets 1 

Woodcutter 1 

Electrician 1 

Sailor 1 

Night watchman 1 

"Gentleman" 1 

Printer 1 

Plasterer 1 

No occupation 1 

Occupation unknown 67 

Total 133 



Mother 



Housewife 70 

Day-servant 12 

Factory hand 3 

Practical nurse 2 

Laundry-worker 2 

Dressmaker 2 

Prostitute 2 



Packinghouse hand 1 

Dancing girl 1 

Domestic servant 1 

Eooming-house keeper 1 

Occupation unknown 36 

Total 133 



Nativity of parents. — Table 40 shows that Italy again has a 
number of individuals in the list far in excess of what she should 
have when the number of foreign-born Italians in San Francisco 
is taken into consideration. In this list Ireland is second in 
having many dependents, while Germany, which was second in 
the delinquency table, is fifth in the dependency list. This indi- 
cates that the Germans, at least in San Francisco, have a greater 
tendency to delinquenc}^ than to dependency and that in respect 
to delinquency they are far less desirable immigrants than in 



44 University of California Puhlications in Psychology [^ou 3 

respect to dependency. It must always be borne in mind, how- 
ever, that the numbers which are being considered here are so 
small that the indications are not conclusive. 

Table 39. — Nativity of Dependent Children 

Native-born of native-born parents 34 

Native-born of mixed parentage 8 

Native-born of foreign-born parents -14 

Foreign-born of foreign-born parents 13 

Nativity unknown - 34 

Total 133 

Table 40. — Native Country of Foreign-born Parents 

Italy 26 

Ireland 23 

Spain 19 

France 14 

Germany 6 

Porto Eico 6 

Chile 4 

Scotland 4 

Hawaii 4 

Mexico 4 

Russia 2 

England 2 

SAveden 2 

Norway 2 

Portugal 2 

Belgium -- 1 

Finland 1 

Total 122 

Environment of dependent children. — The table showing the 
environment of the dependent children, based on tJie same scheme 
as was used in the case of the delinquents, shows again a marked 
resemblance between the delinquent and the dependent children. 
Most of the dependent children come from bad or unsatisfactory 
homes, but a somewhat larger proportion comes from good homes 
— namely, 34 per cent of the dependents, as against 23 per cent 



]918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 45 

of the delinquents. In this connection the group of delinquents 
who are also dependent has been considered separately, and of 
this group almost none come from good homes, merely 3 per cent 
of the total. 

Table 41. — Environment of Dependents 

Environment good 45 34% 

Environment bad 29 22% 

Environment unsatisfactory .58 43% 

Environment unknown 1 1% 

Total 133 100% 

Table 42. — Environment of Dependent-Delinquents 

Environment good 2 3% 

Environment bad 27 44% 

Environment unsatisfactory 33 53% 



Total 62 100% 



46 Utiiversiiij of California Publications in Psijchologij [Vol.3 




Dependents. 




Bad environ- 
ment 



Unsatisfactory 
environment 



Environment 
unknown 



□ Good environ- 
ment 



Delinquents. 




Dependent delinquents. 

Graphs 20, 21 and 22. Environmental conditions of various groups of 

children. 



1918] BrkJgman: Esperbncntal Study of Abnor)uaJ Children 47 



NOTES ON GROUP OF MISCELLANEOUS CASES 

This last group consists of children coming to the clinic, who 
for some reason seemed to be abnormal. The.y are interesting 
onh' as individuals or as examples of the types of children 
that are brought to a psychological clinic for some apparent 
abnormality. There were one hundred and twelve of these 
children. When graded according to the Binet scale, the results 
shown in table 43 were obtained. Those children, ranking 

Table 43. — Diagnoses of Cases According to the Binet Scale 

Idiot 7 

Imbecile i-3 

Moron 14 

Defective 2 

Backward 31 

Normal 42 

? (Insane) 1 

Total 112 

according to the Binet scale as normal or approximately normal 
in respect to general intelligence, present a number of interesting 
mental, physical and neurological abnormalities. They are 
briefly summarized in table 44. 

Table 44. — Children Graded as Normal by the Binet Scale 

Normal in every respect 7 

Neurotic and mentally unstable 13 

Epileptic - 8 

Given to violent fits of temper 3 

Suffering from adenoids 3 

Congenitally deaf 2 

Unable to learn to spell 1 

Choreic 1 

111 with pulmonary tuberculosis 1 

Suffering from defective vision 1 

Lazy and inefficient 1 

Paralytic 1 

Total 42 



48 Univcrsiti/ of California Pvhlications in Psychology [Vol. 3 



Table 45. — Chronological Ages of the Miscellaneous Group 



Boys 



Girls 



1 yr- 

3 yrs. 



6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

23 

30 



3 y 



Total 65 






6 


8 


7 


4 


8 


8 


9 


5 


10 


6 


11 


4 


12 


1 


13 


5 


14 


5 


15 


1 


IG 


2 


17 


2 


18 


1 


19 


1 


22 


— 


28 


)5 


36 



Total 47 



Table 46. — Mental Ages of the Miscellaneous Group 



1 yr... 

2 yrs. 

3 " 

4 " 

5 " . 

6 " 

7 " , 

8 " 

9 " 

10 " , 

11 " 

12 " 
15 " 



Boys 



7 
5 
6 
4 
6 
10 
2 

2 

2 



Girls 



1 yr... 

2 yrs. 



3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

15 

■if 



Total 65 



Total 



47 



1918J Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 49 

Among the backward and feeble-minded children in tliis 
miscellaneous class there were to be found nearly as many types 
as in the so-called normal group. Among them were two epi- 
leptics, four paralytics, four Mongolian idiots, one hydrocephalic, 
two cretins, besides a number of children who were constitution- 
ally psj'chopathic. This whole group has been a most interest- 
ing one because of the number of rather unusual mental and 
nervous disorders which have been brought to the attention of 
the examiners. These children were brought in usually by their 
own parents; they came as a rule from fairly good homes, and 
because of the natural reticence on the part of the parents the 
study of the social background was not at all satisfactory. As 
individual cases, however, they have helped to make the work 
in the clinic rich in special opportunities for studying mental 
and physical abnormality. 



50 University of California Puhlications in Psjjchologij [Vol. 3 



GENERAL CONCLUSION 

As has been shown in the preceding pages, of the delinquent 
children included in this study, 36 per cent may be considered 
definitel}^ feeble-minded, 32 per cent backward or with a defect 
less than actual feeble-mindedness, and 32 per cent normal so 
far as general intelligence is concerned. In the group of de- 
pendents, 26 per cent may be regarded as feeble-minded, 39 per 
cent as backward or defective, and 34 per cent as normal. The 
fact that the ages of the two groups, delinquents and dependents, 
differ materialh', may account, to a very large extent, for the 
differences in the percentages of defect in the two classes. As 
the younger backward children grow older, many will unques- 
tionabl}' continue to lag in their development and later will go 
to make up a larger group of feeble-minded children. 

Considerable work has been done by other persons with 
delinquent children, but there are no adequate statistics avail- 
able as to the mental status of dependents as a class. It has 
been estimated that 50 per cent of the inmates of almshouses 
are feeble-minded, but this is based on more or less superficial 
and untrained observation, and cannot be accepted as conclusive. 
Much more reliable figures are to be had as to the mental status 
of offenders, both juvenile and adult, but even in these there is 
considerable variance. Dr. Goddard concludes that probably 
25 per cent to 50 per cent of the people in prisons are mentally 
defective, and that 50 per cent of prostitutes are feeble-minded. 
These conclusions he bases on the reports of tests made on indi- 
viduals in reformatory- institutions, the results of which are 
shown in table 47 taken from his recent publication.* 

The report of the Massachusetts ' ' Commission for the Inves- 
tigation of the White Slave Traffic, So-called," gives the results 
obtained from testing a group of three hundred prostitutes by 



■t Goddard, H. H., Feeble-mindedness: its eauscs and consequences, New 
York, Macmillan, 1914, p. 9. 



1918] Bridg))ian: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 51 

Table 47. — Defectives in Eeformatory Institutions 

Pei'centage 
Institution Defective 

St-. Cloud, Minnesota, Eeformatory 54 

Ealnvay Eeformatory (New Jersey) (Binet) 46 

Bedford Eeformatory, New York (under 11 years) 80 

Lancaster, Massachusetts (Girls' Eeformatory) 60 

Lancaster, Massachusetts (50 paroled girls) 82 

Lyman School for Boys, Westborough, Massachusetts 28 

Pentonville, Illinois, Juveniles 40 

Massachusetts Eeformatory, Concord 52 

NeAvark, New Jersey, Juvenile Court 66 

Elmira Eeformatory 70 

Geneva, Illinois (Binet) 89 

Ohio Boys' School (Binet) 70 

Ohio Girls' School (Binet) 70 

Virginia, three reformatories (Binet) 79 

New Jersey State Home for Girls 75 

Glen Mills Schools, Pennsylvania, Girls ' Dept., about 72 

the Binet scale. Of the total three hundred cases, one hundred 
and fiftj'-four, or 51 per cent, were unquestionably feeble- 
minded. This estimate is very conservative, for all doubtful 
cases were called normal, and it was recognized by the examiners 
that of the one hundred and thirty-five called normal "not more 
than six of the entire group seemed to have really good minds." 
The report further states that at the Massachusetts school for 
the feeble-minded "are an equal number of women and girls, 
medically and legally certified as feeble-minded, who are of equal 
or superior mental capacity" to the above-mentioned one hun- 
dred and thirty-five cases classed as normal. 

The report of the work of the Morals Court in Chicago gives 
the estimate that 50 per cent of women prostitutes are mentally 
defective, this conclusion being based on an investigation of the 
school grades attained by the women. 

W. H. Pyle^ studied two hundred and forty delinquent girls 
in the State Industrial Home for Girls, in Chillicothe, Missouri. 
He made use of groups of tests for invention, free association, 



5 Pyle, W. H., A study of delinquent girls, Psi/chological Clinic, viii, 
143-149, October, 1914. 



52 University of California Puhlications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

memory and imagination, and concluded that two-thirds of the 
girls were subnormal, probably high-grade morons. He did not 
use the Binet tests, because of lack of time for the individual 
tests. 

Miss Margaret Otis, resident psychologist in the State Home 
for Girls in Trenton, New Jersey," has reported the results of 
her examinations of one hundred and seventy-two of the girls 
in this institution and finds only 25 per cent "presumably 
normal." The remaining 75 per cent are "Defective," 30 per 
cent being ' ' Morons. ' ' 

Dr. William Healy, of the Chicago Juvenile Psychopathic 
Institute," has examined one thousand young recidivists, by 
means of a group of tests devised by himself and Dr. Grace 
Fernald, and concludes that "about 10 per cent" of this group 
of cases are "beyond peradventure feeble-minded" and that 
67.4 are cases "that should be regarded without question as 
mentally normal." Although Healy finds a much larger pro- 
portion of his young offenders normal than do most observers, 
still he concludes that "mental defect forms the largest single 
cause of delinquency to be found by correlating tendency to 
offend with characteristics of the offender." 

Miss Emile Renz, of Columbus, Ohio,* has made a careful 
study of one hundred consecutive admissions to the Ohio Girls' 
Industrial Home, all of the inmates of which had been committed 
by the court with the statement that the intellect was sound, 
with the concession made in two cases, ' ' but not apt. ' ' Of these 
one hundred girls, 79 per cent show more than three years' 
retardation. Two of them pass the twelve-year tests and there- 
fore pass into the lowest stratum of normals, leaving 77 per cent 
feeble-minded, according to the Binet classification. Three 
vears' retardation is coming to be considered too little on which 



6 Otis, Margaret, Binet tests applied to delinquent girls, Psychological 
Clinic, VII, 127-135, October, 1913. 

■^ Healy, "William, The individual delinquent. Boston, Little, 1915, pp. 
140, 447. 

8 Renz, Emile, A study of the intelligence of delinquents and the eugenic 
significance of mental defect, Training School Bidletin, xi, 37-40, May, 1914. 



1918] Bridgman: Expcr'unental Study of Ahnurinal Children 53 

to make the diagnosis of feeble-mindedness, and if a retardation 
of four years is required, the number of feeble-minded in the 
one hundred eases drops to 58 per cent. Miss Renz considers 
that 58 per cent "represents the moderate statement, and a trust- 
worthy figure for theoretic purposes. ' ' 

George S. Addams, Judge of the Juvenile Court of Cleveland, 
Ohio,^ in a report to the National Conference of Charities and 
Corrections, makes a strong plea for mental examinations of 
children in the courts, emphasizing the importance of mental 
deficiency in the causation of vice and crime. He states that 
of one hundred consecutive commitments to the Boys' Industrial 
School of Ohio, only seventeen were found normal, the balance 
being border-line, backward or defective. 

li. B. Hickman of the Indiana Boys' SchooP" tested two 
hundred and twenty-nine boys in that institution by the Binet 
scale and concluded that of the whole number "only about 
sixty-three will be able to get out and take an^-thing like a 
normal station in society, at least forty-five will always be unfit 
for anything except institution life, and the remainder Mali 
always require assistance of some kind toward making their 
living. ' ' 

The George Junior Republic, in Freeville, New York, has 
also had to face the problem of mental deficiency in the ease of 
some of its 'citizens.' The fact that a few of these children had 
failed to benefit as thej' should have done by the methods of 
the Republic, led the Educational Departmeut of Cornell Uni- 
versity to carry out, at the request of the Republic, tests of 
mental status on the more troublesome cases. As a result, a 
series of clinics was held and twenty-six of the 'citizens.' twenty 
boys and six girls, were tested according to Goddard's revision 
of the 1911 Binet-Simon tests.^^ Of the six girls, two were 



s Addams, Geo. S., Defectives in .the juvenile court, Training School 
Bulletin, xi, 49-55, June, 1914. 

10 Hickman, H. B., Delinquent and criminal boys tested by the Binet 
scale, Training School Bulletin, xi, 159-165, January, 1915. 

11 Jennings, H. M., and Hallock, A. L., Binet-Simon tests at the George 
Junior Eepublic, Jour. Educ. Psychol., iv, 471-475, October, 1913. 



54 University of California. Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

definitely defective and two probably defective. It was con- 
cluded that the first two should be removed from the Republic 
and the second two should be re-tested later for signs of improve- 
ment. Of the twenty boys tested, three were graded as morons 
and their removal from the Republic was advised. The next 
four were border-line cases, needing further study; the remain- 
ing thirteen were normal. The examiners have concluded that 
"the tests have served a real purpose in the practical admin- 
istration of the Freeville Republic, and it is planned that in the 
future no applicants for admission to citizenship will be received 
until their mental status has been scientifically determined." 

All the evidence points to the same conclusion : that a large 
proportion of delinquents are defective, and that the mental 
deficiency has undoubtedly exercised a large influence in the 
causation of their delinquency. An important next step in- 
cludes careful study of delinquents wherever they are found, 
and beyond this a stud}' of the school population in order to 
determine as nearly as possible which of the school children 
will be clearly incapalale of developing normally, and to make 
adequate plans for them before they become delinquent. If 
this is to be done successfully, the whole class of dependents 
must also be carefully studied and permanent plans must be 
made for them, so that, when they arrive at an age when state 
laws no longer provide for their maintenance, any who need 
special care or supervision can be provided for permanently. 
Measures looking toward this end will prevent many dependent 
children from becoming delinquent as soon as the rather unusual 
supervision exercised over them by the state, either in institu- 
tions or in boarding-homes or under the provisions of the 
Widows' Pension Law, has been removed. 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Ahnurmal Children 55 



APPENDIX 

Summary of Typical Case-Histories 

Case 29. — M. J. was referred to the Psychological Clinic by 
the maternit}' ward of the University Hospital, because she 
seemed defective. It was said of her that she used such bad 
language that slie could not be allowed to remain in the ward 
with the other patients. She was an unmarried woman of 
thirty-t^^•o years and had an infant a few weeks old. This 
woman's parents had died when she was about seven years old 
and she was placed in an orphanage. There she remained until 
she was fifteen years old, when work was found for her in a 
private home as a domestic servant and she was discharged from 
the institution. In less than a year's time she gave birth to 
an illegitimate child, which had a hare-lip and died when three 
days old. From that time till about a year ago she supported 
herself by doing housework. Under supervision she works very 
well, but morally she is entirel}^ irresponsible. According to 
the Binet scale she has a mental age of nine j^ears and is 
distinctly feeble-minded. All other tests show her equally de- 
fective. She has already had two illegitimate children and if 
left at large, w^ill almost certainly have more. She is assuredly 
a person who needs care and protection such as could be given 
her in the proper institution ; society should find means of 
protecting itself against such individuals. 

Case 32. — C. G. is a fourteen-year-old girl sent to the 
Ps^'chological Clinic b}' the Associated Charities of San Fran- 
cisco. The father is unknowoi and the mother is alcoholic and 
immoral. The mother has also been considered mentally defec- 
tive. For six years C. G. has been in a foster-home where she 
has received good care and training. She is now in the second 
grade in school and is clearly a defective child. She occasionally 
has epileptic convulsions. According to the Binet scale she has 



56 University of California Puhlications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

a mental age of eight years and will never be a normal person. 
She will never be able to snpport herself without a very large 
measure of supervision and should certainly not be thrown upon 
her own responsibilities at any time. Steps should be taken to 
place her in an institution for the feeble-minded before it be- 
comes necessary to release her from the care of the Children's 
Agenc3' of the Associated Charities of San Francisco. There she 
would learn to do simple, routine work, and would be protected 
during" the rest of her life from the dangers to which she would 
be exposed if left at large. 

Case 39. — C. M. is a fourteen-year-old boy sent to the clinic 
by the Associated Charities. Three years ago he was taken from 
his parents, both of whom were known to be immoral, and com- 
mitted to the Children's Agency. He was at that time in an 
exceedingly bad phj-sical condition as the result of hereditarj^ 
syphilis, and it was necessarj^ to keep him in a hospital for two 
years, receiving appropriate treatment, before it was considered 
safe to place him in a foster-home. For the past year he has 
been in a good home and has improved greatly both mentally 
and physically. According to the Binet scale he has a mental 
age of nine years with a retardation of five years. He is now 
in the third grade in school. Until a year ago this boy had never 
attended school. In spite of his great physical handicap his 
progress has been gratifying, and, although he is still far from 
normal, some further improvement is to be expected. 

Cases 40, 65, 91 and 92. — These four children were brought 
to the clinic from one of the orphanages of San Francisco. 
N. D. and N. S. are brother and sister, as are J. J. and J. S. 
They all have the same maternal grandmother. The parents 
of N. D. and N. S. were both drunkards, and the mother 
died of pulmonary tuberculosis. N. D., an eight-year-old epi- 
leptic girl, is entirely irresponsible and unable to fix her 
attention on an}- mental work loug enough to do schoolwork 
successfully. S. N., her brother, is an eleven-year-old boy appar- 
ently normal in every way. He is in the sixth grade in tlie 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Abnormal Children 57 

public school, is bright and energetic, and has good native ability'. 
He has a mental age of nearly twelve years, and seems to have no 
abnormal tendencies of any kind. 

The father of J. J. and J. S. was a drunkard, probably 
mentally defective, and was thought to have murdered his own 
mother, though this crime was never proven against him. The 
mother of these two children was very eccentric. She is now 
dead. J. J. is a fourteen-year-old girl with a mental age of 
ten years. She is in the sixth grade in the public school and 
is quiet and obedient, though it is recognized hy nearly all with 
whom she comes in contact that she is below normal. Her 
brother, J. S., is thirteen years old with a mental age of nine 
years. He is only in the third grade and is regarded as markedly" 
defective. These four children of one grandmother, who was 
known to be exceedingly peculiar, show well the effect of bad 
heredity. It is not possible to say, out of all the factors which 
make the heredity so bad, which are the most important. Only 
one of the four children is normal, one is epileptic, and two are 
mentally defective. 

Case 103. — P. C. is a nine-j^ear-old boy brought to the Juve- 
nile Court by his mother because he had tried to poison his little 
sister. He had poured off the liquid from poison flypaper and 
had given it to the child to drink. He said that he had read in 
the paper that it would kill, and that he had wanted to see 
what she looked like while she was dying. His mother found 
him trjnng to give the baby the poisoned water, and so averted 
the catastrophe. He ordinarily seemed rather fond of his sister 
and frequently played with her. His mother says, however, that 
he is not affectionate and does not care much for anyone. He 
is small for his age and very quick and bright. According to 
the Binet scale he has a mental age of eleven years, ranking two 
years above normal. He has remarkable mechanical ability and 
is very fond of machinery of all kinds. The home seems good 
in every way and the parents normal. This last act on the 
part of the boy, however, has filled the mother with apprehen- 



58 University of California Publications in Psychology [Vol. 3 

sion and she is distinctly afraid of what he ma}- do in the futnre. 
He is above the average in intelligence and in ingenuitj^ and 
if handled wisely may develop remarkably. This is one of the 
rare eases in which a precocious child with marked abilitj' is so 
devoid of natural feeling as to make him an actual menace to 
those about him. 

Case 122. — G. M. is a fourteen-year-old girl brought to the 
Juvenile Court for repeated immoralit3^ She comes from a 
good home; both parents are normal so far as can be judged. 
For the past two years she has been running away from home 
again and again, and is a source of constant and deep concern 
to her parents. They have done everj^thing in their power to 
give her normal and varied interests, but cannot influence her 
in any way. She has had music lessons and has been placed in 
a gymnasium, but nothing attracts her. Recently she has grown 
morose and sullen and seems to have no affection for other 
members of her family. She is in the seventh grade in school, 
and has always seemed as bright as the average girl of her age. 
According to the Binet scale she has a mental age of over twelve 
years, ranking as normal. The great trouble with this girl seems 
to be her persistent immorality, which she cannot explain. She 
simpl.y says she cannot help it. Whether she is to be dominated 
all her life by these abnormal impulses, it is impossible to say, 
but at the present time she should be placed in some institution 
where she can be observed and where she can be protected from 
herself. 

Case 415. — T. J. is a six-year-old boy, -who was brought to 
the clinic by his school-teacher for stealing and untruthfulness. 
It was reported that he stole eveiything he could lay hands on, 
and could never be relied on to tell the truth about anything. 
There are four children in the family, this lad being the oldest 
of the four. The father is a drunkard and has never jirovided 
for the needs of the family in a satisfactory way. About two 
.years ago he deserted the mother with her four small children 
and has not been heard of since. The mother worked for a 



1918] Bridgman: Experimental Study of Ahnornial Children 59 



time as a telephone operator and with the aid of relatives man- 
aged to look after the children. Her lot was a hard one, how- 
ever, and her responsibilities apparently were too much for her, 
for less than a year ago she, too, disappeared leaving the children 
with their grandmother. Since then the whole family has been 
eared for to a considerable extent by the Associated Charities, 
for the grandmother is not financially able to look after them. 
All have lacked moral training and are entirely undisciplined. 
This boy seems to have developed no moral sense and to him 
there is no "mine and thine." He has a mental age of seven 
years according to the Binet scale and has good native ability 
in all directions. He is affectionate and attractive, though ver^^ 
selfish. In general intelligence he seems rather above the aver- 
age child of his age. The boy's greatest trouble seems to be a 
moral deficiency due very largely to lack of moral training. He 
needs the most careful education along moral and mental lines, 
if he is to develop in a normal way. It is probable, if he is 
neglected, that the dangerous tendencies which he now shows 
will become more marked and make further trouble. 

Cases 190, 289 and 366.— G. M., F. J. and P. E. are three 
sisters referred to the clinic through different agencies. The 
mother is dead and the father is a cook on a river-boat. He is 
alcoholic and irresponsible and for some time has failed to 
support his family. All three of the girls are seriously immoral 
and seem to have the lowest social standards. G. M., who is 
twenty-three years old, has a mental age of nine years ; F. J., 
who is nineteen years old, has a mental age of ten years; F. E., 
aged seventeen years, has a mental age of twelve years. Two 
of these girls, then, are definitely feeble-minded and the third 
defective but not actuall}^ feeble-minded. The two younger girls 
are under the care of the Juvenile Court, but the oldest is mar- 
ried and already has two children. She is almost entirely 
dependent on public aid for her living, and her youngest child 
has a serious disease of the eyes which will probably result in 
at least partial blindness. This woman's husband has deserted 
her and she is livins" with a man to whom she is not married. 



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